November 20, 2014

Team of Graduate Students Aid in Making of Interstellar

The research of three Cornell graduate students — François Hébert, Andy Bohn and William Throwe — helped an executive producer of Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar gain insight on visualizing black holes, a central story-telling device used in the film’s plot.

Kip Thorne, a theoretical physicist at the California Institute of Technology known for his work with astrophysics and a producer for the film, asked the students to provide some images and videos of a “single black hole,” according to Hébert.

A group of graduate students at Cornell provided images and videos of a single black hole that helped a producer of Interstellar create visuals for the film. (Courtesy of Paramount Pictures)

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The College of Human Ecology kicked off its first-ever Energy Smackdown Competition — a celebration of conservation and competitiveness — on Monday. The competition, which will run through the end of 2014, is the second in a series of four sustainable topics that the college will be sponsoring over the next few months, according to Kristine Mahoney, director of facilities and operations at the human ecology college.